Perelshteyn

& Ivanov
Take 70th
New England
Open
October-December 2010
$3.95
 CHESS HORIZONS

77th Greater Boston Open

Sunday, October 31st, 2010 Natick, Massachusetts
$1700 Fully Guaranteed Prize Fund
Where: Kennedy Senior Center, 117 E. Central Street (Route 135), Natick, MA 01760
What: 4-round USCF rated Swiss, Game/60, in 4 sections: Open, U2000, U1700, U1400.
Registration: 8:30 – 9:30 AM
Rounds: 10:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 3:30 PM, 6:00 PM
Entry Fee: $39 if postmarked by 10/26 or online (PayPal) at www.masschess.org by 10/29, $45 on
site. GM, IM free. No credit cards on site (cash or check OK). No phone or e-mail entries.
Special: Unrated may play in any section but may not win 1st prize except in the Open section.
Prizes: Prizes are 100% guaranteed.
Open: $300-150 U2150 $125
U2000: $250-125 U1850 $100
U1700: $200-100 U1550 $75
U1400: $150-75 U1200 $50

• One half-point bye allowed in any round if requested with entry. Limit one bye.

• USCF and MACA or home state membership required. (MACA dues $12 adult,
$6 under 18; add $8 [optional] for a subscription to Chess Horizons)

• Emergency contact day of tournament only: 508-561-2160. No phone entries.

Questions: GBOInfo2010@masschess.org. www.MassChess.org.

77th Greater Boston Open, October 31, 2010

Name: __________________________________________________ USCF #___________________ Exp: ________

Address: __________________________________________________ Phone: __________________ Rating: ______
City/State/Zip: _________________________________________________________________________________
Email Address: _________________________________________ Junior MACA - Date of Birth: ________________
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Entry Fee $ ________ for the ___________________section
(please specify section)
Total Enclosed $ ________

Mail checks, payable to MACA, to: Ken Ballou, 27 Fenway Drive, Framingham, MA 01701-4012

2 WWW.MASSCHESS.ORG
 CHESS HORIZONS

In This Issue
Letter From the President Chess
Horizons
Page 4

70th New England Open

Page 5
October-December 2010
New England Open!Scholastics Volume 42, Number 4
Page 6
ACTING EDITOR
CJA!Awards Bob Messenger
Page 6 4 Hamlett Dr. Apt. 12,
Nashua N.H. 03062
Lenderman & Zaremba Winners at the editor@masschess.org
Continental Open
Page 7
LAYOUT
Ivanov Annotates Max Sewell
Page 10
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Most Interesting Games of the 79th Mass. Open George Mirijanian
Page 11
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
John Hillery Remembered Warner Smith
Page 14 www.ThePhotographySmith.com
warner@thephotographysmith.com!
Ivanov & Schmelov Top 60th NH Open
Page 16
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Position Vacant
John Hillery: The Mr. Spock of
Califormia Chess ISSN 0147-2569. Published by the Massachusetts
Page 17 Chess Association (MACA), www.masschess.org.
Entire contents copyright 2010 by MACA and by
Bent Larsen, Michael Glinski & Irving Wolfson the individual authors. The opinions expressed are
Page 18 those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect
those of MACA, its board or its membership.
Single-copy price, $3.95. MACA membership:
Ivan Sokolov: The Ruy Lopez Revisited Adult: $20 with Chess Horizons, $12 without.
Page 19 Junior (under 18): $14 with Chess Horizons, $6
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Club News
Page 21 Send renewals, address changes, and all
money (in US funds, payable to MACA), to
Cover photo by Warner Smith. Membership Secretary Bob Messenger, 4
Hamlett Dr. Apt. 12, Nashua, NH 03062,USA.
Include USCF ID number, e-mail and ZIP+4 if
The next deadline for submissions is December 1, 2010. known. Or join/renew at masschess.org. No
All submissions are accepted and appreciated. Submissions are refunds.
preferred via e-mail and in ChessBase, PGN or MS Word formats.

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 3

MACA
Massachusetts Chess Association
www.masschess.org
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Kenneth R.!Ballou
27 Fenway Drive, Framingham, MA 01701
(508) 788-2771
president@masschess.org
VICE PRESIDENT
Position vacant
TREASURER
Robert D. Messenger
4 Hamlett Dr. Apt. 12, Nashua, NH 03062
(603) 891-2484
treasurer@masschess.org
CLERK
Brian Mottershead
118 Nowell Farme Rd., Carlisle MA 01741
(978) 371-3960
clerk@masschess.org
CONTACT ADDRESS
www.masschess.org/contact
COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN
Budget: Steve Frymer, 64 Asbury Street
Lexington, MA 02421-6521
Bylaws: Brian Mottershead
Fundraising: Position vacant
Living Memorial
Chess Fund: Steve Frymer
Membership Secretary: Bob Messenger
Parliamentarian: Brian Mottershead
Prison Chess: Steve Frymer
Publications: Bob Messenger
Scholastics: Ken Ballou
Tournaments: Ken Ballou
Volunteers: Stephen Dann
4 WWW.MASSCHESS.ORG
CHESS HORIZONS
Letter From The President
by Ken R. Ballou
Do you have what it takes to make a difference? Are you
ready to give back to chess?
Your state organization is a volunteer operation. MACA's
chess activites — scholastic and adult tournaments, publication of
Chess Horizons, support for school and library programs through
LMCF grants — could not happen without the support of highly
dedicated volunteers who step up to meet the challenge and make
it all happen.
There are currently eight open seats on the MACA Executive
Board. The board is the body that directly influences day-to-day
MACA operations and sets policy. We welcome those members
who have an interest in giving back to the game by contributing
their time and talent to the board. We are always looking for new
ideas for how we can achieve our mission of promoting chess
more effectively in Massachusetts and make a difference
So, do you have what it takes?
MACA Update
Two members of the MACA Executive Board resigned over
Labor Day weekend: Vice President Maryanne Reilly, who was
also the chairperson of MACA's Scholastic Committee, and director
Brian Lafferty, who was the chairman of the Fundraising Committee.
At its September meeting the board voted to thank Maryanne for
her years of service to MACA. These resignations bring the num-
ber of board members who have resigned this year to four, since
directors Robert and Margaret King resigned at the June meeting.
As MACA President Ken Ballou said in his letter above, there
are eight vacancies on the Executive Board. We are also still looking
for a Chess Horizons Editor and an Advertising Manager; these
are paid positions. At its meeting on October 24th the Executive
Board will choose three Delegates to represent Massachusetts at
the U.S. Chess Federation's Annual Delegates' Meeting in August
2011 in Orlando, Florida. Anyone interested in filling any of
those positions should contact a MACA officer.
Congratulations to George Mirijanian for being named the
USCF's Volunteer of the Month in the October issue of Chess Life.
George is a former MACA President who has worked to promote
chess in Massachusetts for many years.
Congratulations also to GM Alexander Ivanov for winning the
U.S. Senior Open, and to Chuck Cullen, who lives in Scituate, for
winning the 2004 Golden Knights U.S. postal championship,
which finished this year.
 CHESS
70th New England Open
by Bob Messenger
Massachusetts grandmasters Alexander Ivanov and
Eugene Perelshteyn became New England co-champions
by tying for first place in the Championship section of the
70th New England Open. They each scored four wins
and two draws, including a draw against each other in
round four. In the last round Ivanov was held to a draw
by the young Connecticut master/expert Alex Fikiet,
allowing Perelshteyn to catch up with a win against FM
Chris Chase, a former New England champion and
MACA president who lives in Somerville, Mass.
This was the second time Perelshteyn has won the
New England Open, having finished clear first in 1997.
Ivanov has been clear first or tied for first many times,
most recently at the 2009 event in Nashua, N.H., where he
tied for first with SM Denys Shmelov of Pepperell, Mass.
The tournament was held at Bradley International
Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, over Labor Day
weekend, September 4th to 6th. A total of 106 entrants
competed in the various sections, with 49 players in the three
day main event. Because of the unexpectedly low turnout
it was necessary to combine several of the lower sections.
Connecticut A-player Christopher Potts won the com-
bined U2100/U1900/U1500 section with a score of five out
of six, half a point ahead of Morris Lainer of Easthampton,
Mass. 14-year-old Tian Rossi of West Newton, Mass. won
the top U1900 prize, and Brian Smith, a B-player from
Connecticut, won the U1700 prize, both scoring four points.
In the combined U1500/U1300 section Connecticut
middle schooler Joseph Han, with an official pre-tourna-
ment rating of only 966, finished first with five points
and gained over 300 rating points. Ian Lomeli and
Richard Takasumi, both of Connecticut, tied for second
with four points, Takasumi winning the top U1300 prize.
There were side events on all three days of the
tournament. Derek Meredith and Kevin Zimmerman
won the Saturday quads, and Salvatore Leone won the
Sunday Swiss, all with perfect scores. On Sunday night
GM Alexander Ivanov won the New England Blitz
Championship with a near-perfect nine out of ten points.
On Monday New Hampshire expert Pat Sciacca won an
11-player Swiss with a score of 4.5 out of 5.
From a tournament organizer's point of view, the
big story of the tournament was the low turnout. With
an $8,000 guaranteed prize fund the event was a financial
disaster for the organizers, Alex Relyea and his wife Nita
HORIZONS
Alex Relyea and Nita Patel. Photo: Warner Smith
Patel of Bedford N.H. Many theories have been suggested
for why so few players entered this year's New England
Open. The most obvious reason was that the tournament
was held on the same weekend as the New York State
Championship, which was held in Albany and drew 199
players, all in the main tournament. However, since both
events have been held on Labor Day weekend for many
years, other factors must be involved.
The New England Open has been held in Connecticut
three other times within the last 30 years: in 2004, 1995
and 1986. Joe Sparks organized the 2004 event, held at
the same site, and the event drew 91 players in the main
tournament, 112 overall. In 1995 Ernie Schlich and I held
the tournament in Waterbury and got 118 players in the
main event, 125 overall. Stephen Dann organized the
NEO in Cromwell in 1986 and the event had a record
attendance of 262 players, all in the main tournament.
Bill Goichberg, the organizer of the New York
championship, suggested three reasons for the low turnout
at this year's New England Open: the numerous side events,
which may have drawn players who otherwise would
have played in the main tournament; the lack of a two
day schedule; and the unusual time control (increment
instead of time delay). Other organizers have suggested
that it no longer makes sense to hold the New England
Open on Labor Day weekend, or that it should be held in
eastern Massachusetts, away from New York. Alex and
Nita should be commended for having tried to rotate this
traditional tournament among the New England states,
but this year's event was a very expensive loss for them.
The chief tournament director was Alex Relyea,
assisted by Nita Patel, Ken Ballou and Bob Messenger.
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 5
 CHESS HORIZONS

New England Open

Scholastics
by Bob Messenger

A total of 28 players, some playing in multiple sec-

tions, entered the scholastic sections of the 70th New
England Open over Labor Day weekend. On Saturday
Nicholas Liotta, Aashish Welling and Benjamin Piche
each scored three out of four points in the K-12 U1400
section. Nicholas won his first three games, and this
gave him enough tiebreak points to win the first place
trophy, despite losing in the last round to Aashish, who
won the trophy for second place. August Donovan was
clear first in the K-12 U800 section, also scoring three
points out of four.
On Sunday Sabrina Zhang and Jason Li tied for first
in the K-6 U1350 section, each winning three games and
drawing their game when they played each other in
round three. Sabrina won the first place trophy on
tiebreaks. There was a three-way tie in the K-6 U700
section between Lauren Smorgonsky, Amaan Ashab and
Maxwell Zhao. Lauren won the first place trophy on
tiebreaks, and Amaan won second. Group trophy shot from the NE Open Scholastic. Photo: Warner Smith
Since only six players showed up for the K-3 sec-
tions on Monday, U1200 and U600 were combined into
a single section and everyone who entered got a trophy.
Noam Benson-Tilsen won all his games to win the com-
CJA!Awards
bined section. Ethan Blake, playing in his first tournament,
by Bob Messenger
had the second highest score overall with three points
out of four, and was awarded the trophy for first U600. Chess Horizons won the following awards from the
Out of the 28 players in the scholastic sections, 13 Chess Journalists of America:
were from Massachusetts, 11 were from Connecticut, Winner, Best Chess Photojournalism, for the pho-
and there was one player each from Rhode Island, New tograph of George Mirijanian analyzing with Mateos
Hampshire, New York, and Maryland. Sahakian which appeared on page 24 of the July-September
Nita Patel directed the scholastic sections of the 2009 issue, taken by Tony Cortizas.
New England Open, and her husband Alex Relyea was Co-Runners Up, Best Chess Magazine/Newsletter
the chief director for the entire tournament. Layout: the October-December 2009 issue, edited by
Mark Donlan, and the January-March 2010 issue, edited
by Max Sewell.
“Alekhine is a poet who creates a Runner-up, Best Analysis: the "Vigorito on Chess"
column which appeared in the July-September issue,
work of art out of something that
written by David Vigorito.
would hardly inspire another man to Congratulations and thanks to Tony, Mark, Max and
send home a picture post card” Dave!

— Max Euwe

6 WWW.MASSCHESS.ORG

Lenderman and Zaremba Winners at the Continental Open
by David Yasinovsky
The Continental Open is always
a special event as it is held in the
waning days of summer, when the
players are all dreading the return to
habitude and dreariness that the
impending autumn invariably brings
with it. This melancholy gives the
tournament a unique feel and molds
well to the idyllic setting, a lake
embedded into the hill-strewn land-
scape of historic Sturbridge. The
water, lapping at your feet as you
celebrate victory or embracing your
tired body and helping send away
the sorrows of defeat, is deep and
enticingly calm. The shores of the
lake seem to be a slice of a different
world, where the turmoil of our day
to day life can be forgotten as we eat
in the open patio of the Ox Head or
roam around the Jaguar car show
which always seems to fall on the
same weekend as the tournament.
Much the same can be said
about the tournament room itself
which, devoid of windows, feels like
a capsule in which time stops still. In
fact, if it weren’t for the ticking of
the scarce analog clocks throughout
the long rows of white tables, it
would be easy to forget that in a few
short days we would be making the
trek back to our hometowns. For
some of us, like myself, who were
getting ready to go to college, the
tournament was a welcome respite
from the grind of packing, and a
final moment to be with the friends
we would most likely forget as our
resumes grew bigger and our wallets
smaller. We held to it, believing that
if we only focused harder on that
next move, or waited longer for the
last game to finish, we could some-
how freeze ourselves in this snap-
CHESS HORIZONS
GM Alexander Lenderman. Photo: Warner Smith
shot of familiarity, safety, happiness.
Although the surroundings and
people were familiar, the names at
the top of the cross tables were not,
as GM Alexander Lenderman, mak-
ing a surprise appearance in the
event, took first place accompanied
by Andrei Zaremba who, like
Lenderman, resides and plays in
New York. The duo swept through
the field, each scoring 5/6, and
although GM’s Georgi Kacheishvili,
Alexander Ivanov, Sergey Kudrin
and Master Charles Riordan gave
heated pursuit they came up just
short, each scoring 4.5/6. Ben
Krause made an incredible run deep
into the event, holding Lenderman to
a draw and beating GM Mikheil
Kekelidze, before Ivanov put a stop
to his theatrics with a technical
endgame grindout in the 4th round.
Ben continued to play well, howev-
er, drawing FM William Kelleher,
before running out of steam in the
last round and losing to promising
NY youngster Aleksandr Ostrovskiy.
In the U2100 section, Ben
Gershenov steamrolled his oppo-
nents as one of the top seeds should
before finally accepting a draw in
the last round against Maxwell
Schwartz who, together with Andres
Castaneda, scored 4.5/6, a full point
FM Andrei Zaremba. Photo: Warner Smith
behind Ben. Dean D’Souza equaled
Gershenov’s score in the U1900 sec-
tion as he built momentum from a
first round forfeit win and swept first
place accordingly, as his closest
opponent, Scott Gorman, had request-
ed a last-round bye before the tour-
nament and thus couldn’t attempt to
win the last game and pull level.
The U1700 section saw a four-
way tie for first place, as William
Gregory and Robert Shore drew
their game in the last round allowing
Jonathan Spinnell and Bela Kis to
catch them with wins in the last
round. The quartet scored 5 points
each and divided the prize money
for first-fourth place. Amazingly, the
U1500 section saw the same sce-
nario where a draw between co-lead-
ers Patrick Erickson and Brian
Furtado let two others, Michael
Gordon and Leonard Gruenberg,
catch up by winning their last round
games. Yet another tie for first
occurred in the U1300 section, but
this time it was much more seden-
tary as Randy Frank and Michael
Fishbein (no relationship, I presume,
to GM Alexander Fishbein), over-
came losses to James Taggert to spilt
the top prize with 5 points each.
Taggert was on fire in the first three
rounds, but a tame second half of the
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 7

event saw him drop off the leader
board and into fourth place behind
Adam Piche who had been leading
the event but lost to Frank in the last
round. Finally, the U1000 section
saw a three-way tie for first between
Joseph Han, Benjamin Marinelli, and
Richard A. Lunetta, who showed no
mercy to each other in the early rounds
only to find themselves together in a
group at the top of the table.
Alex Lenderman is rapidly
becoming a world-class chess player,
and he showcases his technique
beautifully in this win over Canadian
GM Pascal Charbonneau:
White:!Charbonneau, Pascal
Black: Lenderman, Alex
[B10] Caro-Kann
1.e4 c6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 cxd5
4.exd5 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nxd5 6.Nf3 Nxc3
7.bxc3 g6 8.d4 Bg7 9.Bd3 0–0 10.0–0
Nc6 11.Re1 b6 12.Bg5 Qd6 An
unusual move; typically Black plays
Re8 or Bb7 13.Be4 e6 14.d5 exd5
15.Bxd5 Qd7 16.Rc1 Re8 17.Rxe8+
Qxe8 18.Qd2 Bb7 19.Re1 Qf8 20.Nd4
Na5 21.Be7 Qc8 22.Nb5 Bxd5
23.Qxd5 Qc6 24.c4 Bf8 25.Bxf8
Kxf8 26.Re4 Qxd5 27.cxd5 Rc8
White's endgame is slightly worse as
he will have trouble holding on to his
d5 pawn 28.f3 a6 29.Nd4 Rc5 30.d6
Rd5 31.Nc2 Nb7 Black could have
snatched the pawn here immediately
with Rxd6, but this move forces the
a pawns off the board as well, thus
providing Black with a passed pawn.
32.Nb4 Rd1+ 33.Kf2 Nxd6 34.Re1
Rd4 35.Nxa6 Ra4 36.Nc7 Rxa2+
37.Re2 Ra5 38.Rd2 Nc4 39.Rc2 Ne5
40.f4 Ng4+ 41.Kf3 h5 42.h3 Ra3+
43.Ke4 Nf6+ 44.Kd4 h4! A very
strong move which limit's White's
ability to advance and protect his pawns.
45.f5 Ra4+ 46.Rc4 Rxc4+ 47.Kxc4
g5 gxf5 was also quite playable but
8 WWW.MASSCHESS.ORG
CHESS HORIZONS
this move, which leaves all of White's
pawns weak, is simpler. 48.Kb5
Nh5 49.Nd5 Kg7 50.Kxb6 Nf4
cuuuuuuuuC
{wdwdwdwd}
{dwdwdpiw}
{wIwdwdwd}
{dwdNdP0w}
{wdwdwhw0}
{dwdwdwdP}
{wdwdwdPd}
{dwdwdwdw}
vllllllllV
51.Ne3 White has won the pawn
back, but this has cost him a lot of time
and his king is now too distanced. This
is demonstrated best by the continua-
tion should White have chosen to
exchange knights: 51.Nxf4 gxf4 52.Kc5
Kf6 53.Kd5 Kxf5 54.Kd4 f3! 55.gxf3
Kf4 and with Black elbowing White's
king, the position is easily won. 51...Kf6
52.Kc6 Ke5 53.Kd7 Ke4 54.Ke7
Desperation, but attempting to keep
the knight on the board loses all of
White's pawns: 54.Ng4 Kxf5 55.Ke7
Nxg2 56.Kxf7 Nf4 57.Nh6+ Ke5 58.Kg7
Nxh3 54...Kxe3 55.Kxf7 Kf2 56.Kf6
Kxg2 57.Kxg5 Kg3 Just in time to
save the last pawn and clinch the game.
58.f6 Ne6+ 59.Kf5 Nf8 60.Ke4? A
slight miscalculation, but it was too
late to salvage a draw anyway. 60...Nh7
And White resigned because Black
forces the f-pawn off the board. 0–1
Although my tournament did not
go particularly well, it was highlight-
ed by four very interesting games.
Unfortunately, I lost three of them,
and pulled out a win only through a
blunder by my opponent late in the
sixth hour of a very drawn position.
The following game was the most
exciting of the event for me, with
both time controls getting down to
the final seconds. If only the result
had been different…
White: Yasinovsky, David (1922)
Black:!Bela Kis, Lorand (2180)
[C23] Bishop’s Opening
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f4
d5 5.exd5 cxd5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.fxe5
Bxb5 Lorand miscalculates, and the
following series of exchanges leaves
me up a pawn. I don’t think he even
looked at exf6 here, just Nxb5 after
which Ne4 gives Black some play
for the pawn. 8.exf6 Bd7 9.Nxd5
Nc6 10.Nf3 gxf6 11.0–0 Be6 12.Nf4
Bc5+ 13.Kh1 Qd7 14.Nh5 0–0–0
15.Nxf6 Qe7 16.Ne4 I'm up two pawns
now, but time pressure was looming
and I began to see premonitions of a
dangerous attack on my king. 16...f5
17.Nxc5 Qxc5 18.d4 Qd6 19.Bg5
Rd7 20.b3 Rg8 By this point Lorand
and I both had about 15 minutes left,
and I began to enter panic mode.
21.Qd2 Bd5 22.Bf4 Qg6 23.c3 Qh5
24.Rf2 Rdg7 25.Qe3
cuuuuuuuuC
{wdkdwdrd}
{0pdwdw4p}
{wdndwdwd}
{dwdbdpdq}
{wdw)wGwd}
{dP)w!Ndw}
{Pdwdw$P)}
{$wdwdwdK}
vllllllllV
25...b6 Here Black had an
opportunity to simplify into a drawn
endgame which both Kis and I saw
but severely underestimated: 25...Rxg2
26.Rxg2 Qxf3 27.Qxf3 Bxf3 28.Rag1
b5 29.b4 Ne7 30.h3 Nd5 31.Bd2 Rg6
and although Black is down an
exchange and a pawn, White has to
simplify into a very drawish endgame.
32.Kh2 Bxg2 33.Rxg2 Ra6 34.Be1
f4 35.Kg1 h6 and Black's passed f-
pawn compensates for him being
down material. 26.c4 Be4 27.Ng5??
Simple blindness. I had decided that

I had enough protectors on the piece.
After Rg1, White would have been
well on his way to repelling Black's
threats and gaining victory. 27...Rxg5
28.Bxg5 Qxg5 29.Qxg5 Rxg5
30.Rd1 Nb4 31.Kg1 Nd3 32.Rfd2
Nf4 33.g3 h5 34.Kf1 Nh3 35.Re1
Rg7 36.d5 Ng5 37.Re3 Nf3 38.Rf2
Ne5 39.Rd2 Kd7 40.Rb2 Kd6
cuuuuuuuuC
{wdwdwdwd}
{0wdwdw4w}
{w0wiwdwd}
{dwdPhpdp}
{wdPdbdwd}
{dPdw$w)w}
{P$wdwdw)}
{dwdwdKdw}
vllllllllV
The time control has been
reached, but with my scrambling
towards the last five moves I have
handed the advantage completely over
to Black. However, I still have some
resources in my position and the
game stays very entertaining. 41.a3
Kc5 42.Rd2 a5 43.Rc3 Rh7 44.h4 I
figured this to be the lesser of two
evils; should I let Black play h4, he
gets a passed pawn and a very weak
white h-pawn out of the deal. This
way, I have a glaring weakness on
g3 but at least Black has no simple
infiltration plan. 44...Rg7 45.Kf2
Rg4 46.Re3 Nf7 47.Rb2 Nd6
48.Rbe2 a4! 49.bxa4 Nxc4 50.Rb3
My plan here is to trade off all the
queenside pawns, even if it means
ending up down material. 50...Kxd5
51.Rb5+ Kc6 52.Rb3 Rg8 53.Rc3
Kc5 54.Re1 Ra8 55.Ra1 Rxa4
56.Ke2 b5 57.Rb3 Ra8 58.Kf2 Bd5
59.Rc3 Rg8 60.Re1 f4 61.Re7 Kd4
62.Rb3 fxg3+ 63.Rxg3 Rxg3
64.Kxg3 Nxa3 65.Rh7 b4 66.Rxh5
b3 Not exactly what I hoped for, but
I can try to play here and hope that
in his time trouble (both Kis and I
CHESS HORIZONS
had about 30 seconds left plus delay
at this point) Lorand will make the
slightest error and let me snatch up
his pawn on some trick. 67.Rh8 Nb5
68.Rb8 Bc4 69.Rd8+ Kc3 70.Rd1
Kc2 71.Rh1 Nc3 72.h5 Ne2+ 73.Kg4
I spent my final seconds on this move,
but of course in reality it makes no
difference. 73...b2 74.h6 Bd3 75.Kf3
Kc3 76.Ke3 Nc1 77.h7 Bxh7 78.Rxh7
b1Q 79.Rc7+ In my delirium from
fatigue and constant time pressure, I
allowed myself for a second to think
that I had forced Black's queen off the
board. If only it had been a bishop on
c1 and not a knight... 79...Kb2 80.Rb7+
Nb3 And that's the end of that. 0–1
Sometimes analysis leads to the
discovery of fascinating variations.
When I looked through the following
game I saw an undeniably beautiful,
if totally unnecessary sacrifice, which
would have swept away a brilliancy
prize had it been played on the board.
White: Duval, George (1600)
Black: Twombley, John (1500)
[D06] Queen's Gambit Declined
1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 h6 4.cxd5
Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 e5 7.Bc4
Qe7 8.Ne2 g6 9.0–0 Bg7 10.Be3
0–0 11.Qd2 exd4 12.cxd4 [12.Bxh6]
12...Kh7 13.Rac1 c6 14.Ng3 b6 15.f4
Bb7 Black is utterly outplayed here,
but this turns out to be the losing move.
Much better was f5. 16.f5 Rd8
17.fxg6+ Kh8 18.Rxf7 Qd6 19.Rxg7
This leads to a very simple win, but
in analysis I find an aesthetically very
pleasing queen sacrifice which would
have netted White bragging rights
for a brilliancy. 19.Bxh6 Qxd4+
(19...Qxg6 20.Bxg7+ Kg8 21.Rf6+
Kxg7 (21...Rd5 22.Rxg6 Nd7 23.Be5+
Kf7 24.Qf4+ Ke7 25.Qg5+ Ke8
26.Re6+ Kf7 27.Re7+ Kf8 28.Qg7#)
22.Nf5+ Kxf6 23.e5+ Kxf5 24.Rf1+
Kg4 25.Be2+ Kh4 26.Qf4+)
cuuuuuuuuC
{rhw4wdwi}
{0bdwdRgw}
{w0pdwdPG}
{dwdwdwdw}
{wdB1Pdwd}
{dwdwdwHw}
{Pdw!wdP)}
{dw$wdwIw}
vllllllllV
It seems as though White must
trade queens, but he has a diabolical
trick up his sleeve. 20.Kh1!! The
beauty of dropping a queen with such
an innocent and elegant move is
extraordinary. (Trading queens also
mates: 20.Qxd4 Rxd4 21.Bxg7+ Kg8
22.Nh5 Rd1+ 23.Rf1+ Rd5 24.Rf8#)
20...Qxd2 21.Bxg7+ Kg8 22.Rcf1
Rd5 23.Nf5 Rxf5 24.Re7+ Qd5
25.Rxf5 And with all his pieces tied
down, Black is, once again, mated
by force: 25...Nd7 26.Rh5 Qf7
27.Rxf7 Nc5 28.Rh8# 19...Kxg7
20.Nf5+ 1–0
And so, with the final games
ended, the prize checks signed, the
hotel bills reviewed, there was noth-
ing left but to move on. We left
Sturbridge, some of us heading back
to our hometowns, some to the tedi-
um of our careers, and some to new,
as-yet undiscovered paths which would
lead us perhaps close and perhaps far
away from our current lives. But the
lake, the white-washed table cloths,
and the ticking of chess clocks will
stay engraved on our memories and
hopefully, one day, each of us will
fling open the aging doors of the
conference center once again.
“All I want to do, ever,
is just play Chess”
— Bobby Fischer
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 9

Ivanov Annotates
by GM Alexander Ivanov
White: Ivanov, Alexander (2615)
Black: Bradford, Joseph (2414)
[C03] French, Tarrasch
U.S. Senior Open,
Boca Raton, Florida 2010
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 a6 4.Bd3
[4.Ngf3 c5 (4...Nf6) ] 4...c5 5.dxc5
Nf6 6.exd5 This move is less popular
than [6.Qe2 or; 6.Ngf3 but we were
following the game Ivanov-Shulman,
USA Championship 2006] 6...Qxd5
7.Ngf3 Bxc5 8.Qe2 Nbd7 9.a3N
This is a novelty. Against Shulman I
played 9.c4, but didn't get much out
of the opening. Also known is [9.Ne4
b5 10.0-0 Bb7 11.Nxf6+ gxf6!?=
Rublevsky-Volkov 2005] 9...Bd6!?
Black is preparing Ne5. After the
natural [9...0-0 White can try 10.0-0
and if 10...b5 then 11.b4 Ba7 12.Bb2+/=]
10.c4?! This and White's next move
don't go well together. The immediate
11.Ne4 was probably better, hoping
to win time by attacking the black
Queen with pieces and saving c4 for
later. 10...Qh5 11.Ne4 [11.b4 Ne5=]
11...Nxe4 12.Bxe4 Ne5?! Black is
too eager to trade pieces. [12...Nf6
13.Bc2 Bd7=] 13.Bd2 This stops the
possible Qa5+, but allows Black's
next strong move which compromis-
es both sides' Pawn structures. White
had two ways to get a plus. First the
simple [13.Nxe5 Qxe2+ 14.Kxe2
Bxe5+/= I wasn't sure whether White
could convert the advantage here. Then
the computer move; 13.Bf4 Nd3+
(13...Nxc4 14.Qxc4 Bxf4 15.Bc6+!
bxc6 16.Qxc6+ Ke7 17.Qxa8+/-)
14.Qxd3 Bxf4 15.Qd4 f6 (15...0-0
16.Bxh7+ Qxh7 17.Qxf4+/=) 16.0-0
Bc7 17.Rfd1 0-0 18.c5+/=] 13...f5
14.Bc2 [14.Bc3?! Ng6 looks too
10 WWW.MASSCHESS.ORG
CHESS HORIZONS
messy (14...Nf7!?) ] 14...Nxf3+
15.gxf3 Bd7 [15...0-0 16.0-0-0+/=]
16.0-0-0 0-0-0 [16...0-0? 17.Qd3+-]
cuuuuuuuuC
{wdk4wdw4}
{dpdbdw0p}
{pdwgpdwd}
{dwdwdpdq}
{wdPdwdwd}
{)wdwdPdw}
{w)BGQ)w)}
{dwIRdwdR}
vllllllllV
17.Ba5!+/= My opponent said
after the game that he overlooked this
move. I like it more than [17.Bc3 Qh6+
18.Kb1 Bc7 unclear] 17...Bc7?! Other
options are [17...Qh6+ suggested by
Bradford as an improvement; still
White is better after 18.Kb1 Bc7
19.Bxc7 Kxc7 20.Qe5+ Kc8 21.Rd6
Qf6 22.Qc5+ Kb8 23.Rhd1 Rc8
(23...Bc8 24.Bxf5!+-) 24.Qe3+/-;
17...Bf4+ probably the best 18.Kb1
Rde8 19.Rd4!? e5 20.Rxd7! Kxd7
21.Qd3+ Ke7 (21...Kc8 22.Qd6!+-)
22.Qd5 with initiative] 18.Bxc7
Qh6+ [18...Kxc7 19.Qe5+ Kc8
20.Rd6 Qxf3 21.Rhd1+/- and
21...Qxf2 loses to 22.Rxd7 Rxd7
23.Qxe6+-] 19.f4 Kxc7 20.Qe5+
Kc8 21.Rd6+/- Qf6 Black has noth-
ing better. 22.Rhd1 Qxe5 23.fxe5 g5
24.b4! [Less convincing is 24.c5?!
Kc7 25.Bb3 Rhe8 and it's harder for
White to advance his Queenside
Pawns] 24...Kc7 [24...Rhe8 25.R1d3
g4 26.Bb3 h5 27.b5+/-] 25.a4 Bc8
[25...h5 26.b5 axb5 (26...g4 27.b6+
Kc8 28.c5+-) 27.axb5 b6 28.c5+-]
26.b5 Rxd6 Avoiding the exchange
also loses [26...axb5 27.axb5 b6
28.c5!+-] 27.exd6+ Kd8 28.c5 Bd7
29.Bd3?! [29.bxa6 bxa6 30.Kd2 Bc6
31.Rb1 Kd7 32.Rb6+- was winning
easily] 29...axb5 30.axb5 Kc8
[30...e5 This counterplay is insuffi-
cient; White’s connected passers are
too strong. 31.Kd2 e4 (31...Kc8
32.Ra1 Kb8 33.Kc3 g4 34.Bc4 h5
35.Bd5! Rc8 36.Kb4 h4 37.Rc1+-)
32.Bc4 Kc8 33.Ra1 Kb8 34.Kc3+-]
31.Re1?! Again a little too cautious
[31.Kd2 Kb8 32.Rb1 Rc8 33.c6 I
saw this idea, but was afraid to lose
all three Queenside Pawns for the
Bishop. 33...Bxc6 34.bxc6 Rxc6
35.d7 Rd6 36.Rb6!+- Unlike us
humans computers don't miss such
tactics. (36.Re1? Kc7+/=) ]
31...Kb8 32.Kd2 Rc8 33.Re5 h5
34.Ke3 h4 35.Kd4 g4 36.Bc4
[36.Ke3] 36...Re8 37.Ke3 [37.c6
bxc6 38.bxc6 Bxc6 39.Bxe6+-]
37...f4+? Black's last hope in time
trouble was [37...Rg8 38.Bxe6!
(38.Kf4? g3 39.fxg3 Rg4+-+ since
Bc4 is hanging; 38.Be2 g3 39.fxg3
hxg3 40.hxg3 Rxg3+ 41.Kf4 Rg1
42.Bh5+/-) 38...Re8 39.Bxd7 (39.c6
bxc6 40.bxc6 Bxe6 41.Kf4!+- Kc8
42.d7+ Bxd7 43.cxd7+ Kxd7
44.Rxe8 Kxe8 45.Kxf5+-)
39...Rxe5+ 40.Kd4+-] 38.Kxf4 Rf8+
39.Kxg4 Rxf2 40.h3 Now it's over.
40...Rc2 41.Bxe6 Bxb5 42.Kxh4
Rd2 43.Rd5 Rc2 44.d7 1-0
“No one ever won a
game by resigning”
— Saviely Tartakower

The Most Interesting Games of the 79th Mass. Open
On June 27th MACA President
Ken Ballou announced the winners
of the Most Interesting Game prizes
for the 79th Massachusetts Open:
Open: IM Igor Foygel
Under 2000: Danny Angermeier
Under 1800: Eugene Bedard
Under 1600: Matthew Webber
The games were judged by
Rhode Island master David Griego.
White: Kelleher, Bill
Black: Foygel, Igor
[B06] Robatsch
79th Mass. Open Open
Notes by FM David Griego
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6
4.Be3 a6 5.h3 b5 6.f4?! This is a
somewhat odd mix of systems against
the Modern with ...a6. The "pure
Austrian" set-up with Nf3 and Bd3
is considered the main line, and a Be3,
Qd2 (with perhaps h4) formation is
also quite testing. 6...b4 7.Nb1 Bb7
8.Nd2 c5?! Perhaps provoked by
White's slow play, Black looks to take
the initiative immediately. [Preparing
...c5 with 8...Nd7 seems better.] 9.c3?!
Ostensibly the idea is to support the
center, but it seems to have the oppo-
site effect. [Better is 9.dxc5! dxc5
with 2 possibilities for White: (if
9...Bxb2 10.Rb1 (10.cxd6?! Bxa1
11.Qxa1 Nf6 isn't quite sound) 10...Bc3
11.Ne2 is nice for White) 10.e5!
spiking the g7 Bishop is critical. In
general, this is a pawn structure Black
should avoid in Pirc/Modern openings,
as it is difficult to generate counter-
CHESS HORIZONS
play against White's center. The fact
that White has control over the c4
square seems to be a bonus as well:
(10.Bxc5?! accepts the pawn, but is
probably not best: 10...Qc7! (10...Bxb2
11.Rb1 Bc3 12.Bxb4 is good for White)
11.Be3 (11.Bxb4 Nc6 12.Bc3 Bxc3
13.bxc3 Qxf4) 11...Bxb2 12.Rb1 Bc3
13.Ne2 Nf6 gives Black the initia-
tive) 10...Nd7 11.Ngf3 Nh6 12.Bd3
0-0 13.Qe2 Qc7 14.0-0 gives White
a nice edge. (If White is in a particu-
larly belligerent mood, he can try
14.0-0-0!? ) ] 9...bxc3 10.bxc3 Qa5
11.Qb3 An efficient multi-purpose
move, defending c3, and attacking
both b7 and f7. 11...Nd7!
cuuuuuuuuC
{rdwdkdn4}
{dbdn0pgp}
{pdw0wdpd}
{1w0wdwdw}
{wdw)P)wd}
{dQ)wGwdP}
{PdwHwdPd}
{$wdwIBHR}
vllllllllV
A very dynamic answer to White's
threat. [11...Bc6 12.Nc4 is awkward
for Black.] 12.Bc4 [12.Qxb7? Rb8
13.Qxa6 Qxc3 and things are falling
with check: 14.Bb5 Qxa1+ 15.Ke2
cxd4 16.Bxd7+ Kxd7 17.Qa7+ Kc8
18.Bf2 (18.Qa6+ Kd8 19.Qa7 Qb2)
18...Qc1 is winning for Black.]
12...cxd4! Another counterattacking
solution to White's threat. Black has
calculated that the resulting compli-
cations will favor him. [12...Nh6 is
also possible.] 13.Bxf7+ Kf8 14.Bxg8
[14.Bxd4 Bxd4 15.cxd4 Bxe4 16.Be6
Bxg2 17.Rh2 Bc6 leaves White with
the less safe King position.; If 14.cxd4
Bxe4 15.Be6 Rb8 is even better for
Black: 16.Qc4 Ngf6 17.Kf2 Bd5
18.Bxd5 Nxd5-/+; And 14.Qxb7 is a
total disaster after 14...dxe3 15.Qxa8+
Kxf7-+] 14...Rxg8 15.cxd4 Bxe4
Black has emerged from the tactics
with a clear edge. He has the 2 Bishops,
control of d5, and a safer King. 16.Kf2
Bd5 [16...Rb8!? 17.Qd1 Rb2 looks a
little more direct. It's unlikely White
will survive the position after 18.Ne2
Bd3 19.Re1 Nf6] 17.Qd3 Kf7 18.Ngf3
Rgc8 19.Rhc1 Qb5!
cuuuuuuuuC
{rdrdwdwd}
{dwdn0kgp}
{pdw0wdpd}
{dqdbdwdw}
{wdw)w)wd}
{dwdQGNdP}
{PdwHwIPd}
{$w$wdwdw}
vllllllllV
An interesting practical solution,
by a player known for making excel-
lent practical decisions. Igor is no
doubt confident his technical skills
will bring home the point with the
Queens off the board. [19...Kg8 or;
19...Nf6 are ways to keep the Queens
on the board, although 20.f5 might
create some counterplay.] 20.Qxb5
axb5 21.Rxc8 Rxc8 22.Rb1 [22.a4
Ra8 23.a5 Ra6 isn't dangerous for
Black, as he can go after the a-pawn
with ...Nb8-c6, or even ...Nc5!?-b7.]
22...Rb8 23.Ng5+ Ke8 24.a3 Nf6
25.g4 Kd7 26.Ke2 Bc6 27.Kd3 h6
[27...Ra8!? targets the a-pawn imme-
diately, and Black has a virtually
winning position after: 28.Rb3 Bd5
29.Rxb5 (29.Rc3 Ba2! and ...Nd5 is
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 11

unstoppable.) 29...Rxa3+ 30.Ke2 h6
31.Ngf3 Ne4] 28.Nge4 Nd5 29.Nc3
Nxc3! Another excellent decision.
Grabbing the two Bishops is attrac-
tive on the surface, but Igor most
likely judged [29...Nxe3 30.Kxe3
Ra8 31.Rb3 as more difficult to con-
vert.] 30.Kxc3 Ra8 31.Rb3 [31.Ra1
Ra4 32.Nb3 Bd5 and White's pawns
will start to drop.] 31...Bd5 32.Rxb5
Rxa3+ 33.Nb3 Kc6 34.Rb4 Rxb3+
The resulting same colored Bishop
ending is a clean cut win for Black:
35.Rxb3 Bxb3 36.Kxb3 Kd5 37.f5
[37.Kc3 Ke4] 37...Ke4 38.Bd2 gxf5
39.gxf5 h5 40.Bg5 Bf6 41.Bxf6 exf6
42.Kc4 h4 0-1
White:!LePoer, Geoff
Black: Angermeier, Danny
[D03] Torre Attack (Tartakower
Variation)
79th Mass. Open U2000
Notes by FM David Griego
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3
Be7 5.Bd3 0-0 6.Nbd2 Nbd7 7.Ne5
c5 8.c3 Nxe5 9.dxe5 Nd7 10.Nf3 f6
11.h4!? This at least seems to threat-
en something with Bxh7+, although
the threat isn't really that concrete.
11...fxe5 12.Nxe5 [12.Bxh7+? Kxh7
13.Ng5+ Kg8 14.Nxe6 (14.Qh5?
Nf6-+ doesn't work at all.) 14...Qb6
15.Nxf8 Kxf8 (15...exf4 16.Nxd7
Bxd7 (16...Qe6!?) 17.Qxd5+ Be6)
16.Bg3 Qxb2-/+] 12...Nf6 13.h5?!
This looks like a pretty slow plan,
although this h-pawn later proves to
be quite a troublesome fellow. [13.Qe2
preparing Queenside castling isn't
timed that well either: 13...Bd6 14.0-
0-0 Qc7-/+; Since White has already
taken the gloves off, he may want to
stay in "hostile mode" with: 13.g4!?
Bd6 14.g5 Bxe5 15.Bxe5 Ne4 16.f3
(16.Bxe4!? dxe4 17.Qxd8 Rxd8 18.c4
might reduce White's winning chances,
but Black will suffer for quite a long
12 WWW.MASSCHESS.ORG
CHESS HORIZONS
time.) 16...Nd6 17.Qc2 creates decent
attacking chances.] 13...Bd6 14.h6
g6 15.Qf3?! Stepping right into the
open f-file looks risky. Perhaps worth
a go is [15.Nxg6!? hxg6 16.h7+ Kh8
17.Bh6 Rf7 18.Bxg6 Rc7 19.g4 with
a good amount of compensation for
the piece.] 15...Bxe5 16.Bxe5 Ne4
Out of a quiet opening, we are get-
ting some wild complications...
17.Qg4?! This is walking into a fork,
but there are some even crazier things
on the way. Objectively, White would
rather have Black take on f2 with the
Rook, for example: [17.Qe2!? Rxf2
(17...Nxf2 18.0-0 Nxd3 19.Qxd3 isn't
that much fun for Black.) 18.Qg4
Rf5 19.Qxg6+! (19.Bxe4?! isn't as
good: 19...Rxe5 20.0-0-0 (20.Bxg6?
doesn't work due to 20...Rg5-+)
20...Bd7-/+ with a healthy extra
pawn) 19...hxg6 20.h7+ Kf7 21.h8Q
Qxh8 22.Bxh8 Rh5 23.Rxh5 gxh5
24.Bxe4 should lead to a draw]
17...Nxf2 18.Qxg6+!
cuuuuuuuuC
{rdb1w4kd}
{0pdwdwdp}
{wdwdpdQ)}
{dw0pGwdw}
{wdwdwdwd}
{dw)B)wdw}
{P)wdwhPd}
{$wdwIwdR}
vllllllllV
OK! This is indeed an inspired,
albeit forced, way to continue! 18...hxg6
19.Bxg6? It's tempting to threaten mate
in one, but it's the wrong continuation.
[19.h7+ is much better 19...Kf7 20.0-0!
Ke7 (20...Ke8 21.Rxf2 Rxf2 22.h8Q+
Rf8 23.Bxg6+ with tremendous com-
pensation for the exchange.) 21.Rxf2
Rxf2 22.Kxf2 Bd7 23.h8Q Qxh8
24.Bxh8 Rxh8 25.Bxg6=/+ somehow
ends with material equality, although
Black can play for a win with his bet-
ter structure.] 19...Rf6? [Black should
consider ending White's fun in a most
forceful manner with 19...Qf6! 20.Bxf6
Rxf6-+ when Black is just up a piece.]
20.h7+ Kh8 21.Rh4! White's attack-
ing chances seem to be gaining
momentum.... 21...Ne4? [21...Bd7
22.Rf4 Kg7! Once the Rook is off the
h-file, this active defensive move is
possible. The idea is to win a tempo
by attacking the Bishop. (22...Ng4
23.Rxg4 Qe7 24.0-0-0 and that dark
squared Bishop is more than enough
compensation for the Queen!) 23.Bc2
Ng4 24.Rxg4+ Kf7 Hard to say what
the assessment here is, but getting
out of that pin is some sort of moral
victory.] 22.0-0-0? Threatening to take
on e4 for free, but White should look at
the most forcing moves first: [22.Bxe4!
is most direct, and good for White:
22...dxe4 (22...Qf8 23.Ke2 Qg7 24.Rf1
is the end) 23.Rd1! (Even the slow
looking 23.g4 is dangerous 23...Qe7
24.g5 Qxh7 25.Bxf6+ Kg8 26.Rxh7
Kxh7 27.Rd1+/- and Black will strug-
gle to hold this.) 23...Bd7 (23...Qe7
24.Rh6+-) 24.Rxd7! White cashes in
his chips and forces a winning King
and Pawn ending: 24...Qxd7 25.Bxf6+
Qg7 26.Bxg7+ Kxg7 27.h8Q+ Rxh8
28.Rxh8 Kxh8 29.Kf2+-] 22...Bd7??
Just as in the note after Black's 19th,
the best thing to do is to break the pin
at all costs: [22...Qd6! 23.Rxe4 (23.Bxd6
Nxd6 24.Bc2 Bd7 25.g4 Raf8 26.g5
Rf1 shouldn't be too much trouble for
Black) 23...Qxe5 24.Rxe5 Rxg6 25.Rh1
Bd7 and Black can just triple-team
the h7 pawn with ...Rg7, .....Rf8-f7
ending all counterplay.] 23.Rf1??
[23.Bxe4! still wins a similar King
and Pawn ending after: 23...dxe4
(23...Kg7 24.Rf1 wins a massive amount
of material) 24.Rxd7!? (Although here
White can make use of the access to
the f-file he didn't have in the 22.Bxe4!
variation, and play: 24.Rf1+- ) 24...Qxd7
25.Bxf6+ Qg7 26.Bxg7+ Kxg7 27.h8Q+
Rxh8 28.Rxh8 Kxh8 29.Kc2+-] 23...Qb8!
 CHESS HORIZONS
cuuuuuuuuC
White: Strickland, Eric
{r1wdwdwi}
Black: Bedard, Eugene
{0pdbdwdP} [B21] Sicilian Defense: Smith-
{wdwdp4Bd} Morra Gambit
{dw0pGwdw} 79th Mass. Open U1800
{wdwdndw$}
{dw)w)wdw} 1.e4 g6 2.f4 d6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d4 Nd7
{P)wdwdPd} 5.Nc3 b6 6.Bb5 a6 7.Bc6 Ra7 8.dxc5
{dwIwdRdw} dxc5 9.0-0 Qc7 10.Ne5 f6 11.Qd5
vllllllllV Nh6 12.Be3 fxe5 13.fxe5 Bb7 14.Bxh6
Finally the right idea! It's most Bxh6 15.Qf7+ Kd8 16.Bxd7 Kxd7
interesting that Black had the oppor- 17.Rad1+ Kc8 18.Qe6+ Kb8 19.Nd5
tunity to break this pin twice (on 2 Bxd5 20.Rxd5 Rd8 21.Rfd1 Rxd5
different diagonals!), but the third 22.Rxd5 Rb7 23.g3 Qc8 24.Qxc8+
chance proves to be a charm. The Kxc8 25.e6 Rc7 26.Kf2 Rc6 27.c4
game now ends very quickly: 24.Bxf6+ Rxe6 28.Kf3 Rf6+ 29.Ke2 Kc7 30.b3
Nxf6 25.Rxf6 Qe5 26.Rhf4 Kg7 g5 31.e5 Re6 32.Kf3 Bg7 33.Ke4 Kc6
Probably the maximum amount of 34.g4 Rh6 35.Kf5 e6+ 36.Ke4 exd5+
swings and excitement you could 37.cxd5+ Kd7 38.Kf5 Rxh2 39.a3
pack into a 26 move game! 0-1 Rf2+ 40.Kxg5 Bxe5 41.b4 cxb4
42.axb4 a5 43.b5 a4 44.d6 Kxd6
45.Kh5 a3 46.g5 Bf4 47.Kh6
Bxg5+ 48.Kg7 a2 0-1
White: Hong, Jenshiang
Black: Webber, Matthew
[B24] Sicilian, Closed
79th Mass. Open U1600
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2
Bg7 5.d3 e6 6.Be3 b6 7.Qd2 Nge7
8.Nge2 Nd4 9.0-0 Bb7 10.Nd1 0-0
11.Nc1 e5 12.c3 Ne6 13.Bh6 f5
14.Bxg7 Nxg7 15.f4 Qc7 16.Ne3
Rad8 17.Ne2 d5 18.Rac1 Qb8
19.Qc2 fxe4 20.dxe4 d4 21.Qb3+
Kh8 22.cxd4 exd4 23.Nd5 Nxd5
24.exd5 Nf5 25.Rf2 Ne3 26.a4 Nxg2
27.Rxg2 Bxd5 28.Qd3 Bxg2 29.Kxg2
Qb7+ 30.Kg1 Qd5 31.b3 Rde8
32.Nc3 Qxb3 33.Qb1 Qxb1 34.Nxb1
Re2 35.h4 Rfe8 36.Kf1 Kg7 37.Na3
d3 38.Rc3 d2 39.Rd3 Re1+ 40.Kg2
d1Q 41.Rxd1 Rxd1 0-1

RUSSIAN Waltham Chess Club

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for current and • Friendly, handicapped-accessible setting
• FREE PIZZA NIGHTS!
future titles.
Nicholas Sterling, nicholas@xenophon98.com
or call 781-733-0849
Please contact: Todd Chase, info@WalthamChessClub.org
hwr@russell-enterprises.com or call 781-790-1033

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 13
 CHESS
John Hillery Remembered
by Jack Peters
IM Jack Peters is a former Massachusetts champion who currently lives in California.
John Hillery, the premier organizer of Southern
California tournaments for the last decade, died Sept. 20
at his home in Hollywood, California. He was 58.
Some of you remember John from his time in
Massachusetts in the 1970s. Perhaps I can give you more
insight into his life. He helped shape Southern California
chess for nearly 30 years.
John grew up in Lynn. As a teenager, his great pas-
sion was acting. He didn’t get interested in chess until he
attended Northeastern University in Boston and an ill-
ness kept him from performing with the drama club.
That was the “Fischer boom” era of the early 1970s,
and John plunged into Boston chess enthusiastically. I
met him in the Boylston Chess Club. He was distinctive
even then, wearing a suit and tie while most young people
dressed colorfully and grew their hair long.
When the editor of Chess Horizons asked readers to
submit their best games, John, then rated Class D, sent in
one of his. Years later, I blamed him for turning me into
a chess writer because he shamed me into making my
first contribution to Chess Horizons.
John progressed steadily, earning a master title in
1979 and taking his first steps toward promoting chess
by joining the MACA board. Amid the chaos and rancor
of MACA meetings, John’s calm manner and adherence
to formality stood out.
He visited Los Angeles, apparently on a whim, in
1981 and stayed for the rest of his life. He was a regular
participant in FIDE-rated Futurities at The Chess Set,
Lina Grumette’s legendary Hollywood club, although he
played less frequently in open tournaments. His rating
peaked above 2300. More recently, he took up corre-
spondence chess and achieved a master’s rating.
John began a new chess phase in the early 1980s by
serving as an assistant TD at various tournaments. Soon he
was on his way to becoming a National Tournament
Director and an International Arbiter, nationally esteemed
for his encyclopedic knowledge of USCF rules. No other
TD was as erudite or as steadfastly impartial. I cannot
recall criticism of a single decision by John.
After a successful first stint as Rank and File editor,
John moved to USCF headquarters in New Windsor,
New York, to work as Chess Life assistant editor. I assumed
that he would eventually earn a promotion to editor; he
14 WWW.MASSCHESS.ORG
HORIZONS
certainly had the skills for it. Perhaps John thought dif-
ferently, because he kept paying rent on his unused Hollywood
apartment for the two years he lived in New Windsor.
He was right - the job offer never materialized. In
my opinion, this was tragic for all concerned. The USCF
went through a series of editors who struggled with the
demands of the job, while John grew frustrated waiting
for another chance at his dream job.
His stint in New Windsor prompted one positive
change – John learned to use a computer, becoming an
expert desktop publisher and learning enough HTML to
create several websites. He put out Rank and File, the
Southern California Chess Federation’s magazine, almost
single-handedly, doing all of the editing and layout and
writing most of the articles.
In the last decade, John founded “Western Chess” to
run his own tournaments. His attempts to make money
as an organizer fared poorly, as tournament attendance
slumped and fees for hotel rental rose. Realizing that
scholastic events were more likely to turn a profit, he
devoted more attention to scholastic tournaments.
John surprised me again by attending the 2009
USCF meeting in Indianapolis. Few players would want
to sit through a day and a half of tedious meetings and
boring speeches, but John spent hundreds of dollars to
go and “set the idiots straight.” He accomplished his task
with humor, as you can see at his Western Chess blog.
He administered a second dose of rational thinking this
summer at the 2010 U.S. Open in Irvine, California.
Southern California tournaments offer amenities not
found elsewhere. Give John credit for most of the best
innovations. John served as chief director of our state
championship, an invitational round robin for many
years, and helped with fundraising. Most of our tourna-
ments offer brilliancy or best game prizes, a practice
John began in the 1980s. All scoresheets collected are
posted online within a few days, thanks to John. And
John’s tournaments were among the first to post stand-
ings online every evening. Tournament directors, like
umpires, attract attention mostly by their errors. John
was often overlooked because of the excellence of his
work. Typically, he cringed when praised, because he
felt that he was merely satisfying the standard for the
job. John, you were too modest. Well done!

White: Ivars Dahlberg
Black: John Hillery
Star Warriors II Futurity,
Hollywood 1982
Notes by IM!Jack Peters
1 c4 c6 2 Nc3 d5 3 d4 Nf6 4 Bg5
An unusual treatment of the Slav
Defense. Ne4 5 Nxe4 dxe4 6 Qd2
Bf5 7 e3 h6 8 Bh4 g5 Accepting a
weakened Kingside in return for rapid
development. 9 Bg3 Bg7 10 0-0-0
Sharpest. Na6 11 f3 Also 11 Ne2 c5
12 a3 Qb6 13 d5 should keep an edge.
c5 12 fxe4 Bxe4 13 Bd3 Bxd3 14
Qxd3 Rc8 15 Kb1?! Underestimating
Black’s counterattack. Correct is 15
d5 Qb6 16 Qe2. Qb6 16 h4? White
can maintain equality only by 16 Nf3
Nb4 17 Qe4! (very dangerous is 17
Qb3? Qg6+ 18 Kc1 b5! 19 a3 cxd4!)
cxd4 18 Be5!. cxd4 17 exd4 Nb4 18
Qe4? Losing. Maybe White can sur-
vive 18 c5! Qc6 19 Qf5 e6 20 Qf3
Qa4 21 Qb3. Rxc4 19 Nf3 0-0!
Castling into the fire, but White gets
cooked first. 20 hxg5 Rfc8 21 gxh6
If 21 a3, Black wins the Queen by
21…Na2! 22 Kxa2 Rc2 23 Rb1
R8c3! 24 Ka1 Qb3 (threatening
25...Qxa3+) 25 Qxe7 Bf8.
cuuuuuuuuC
{wdrdwdkd}
{0pdw0pgw}
{w1wdwdw)}
{dwdwdwdw}
{whr)Qdwd}
{dwdwdNGw}
{P)wdwdPd}
{dKdRdwdR}
vllllllllV
Nxa2! Anticipating 22 Kxa2 Ra4+
23 Kb1 Qb3, mating. Or, if 22 Qg4,
Black stops White’s threat by 22…Nc3+
23 Kc2 Nxd1+ 24 Kxd1 Qb3+ 25
Ke2 Rc2+ 26 Kf1 Qd3+ 27 Kg1 Qe3+
28 Kh2 Qxh6+. 22 Be1 Rc1+ 23
CHESS HORIZONS
Kxa2 Qa6+ 24 Ba5 No better is 24
Kb3 R8c4. Qxa5+ 25 Kb3 Qb5+ 26
Ka3 R8c3+!, White Resigns.
White:!John Hillery
Black: Michael Wierzbicki,
Golden Knights Championship,
correspondence 1989-1990
Notes by IM!Jack Peters
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5 4 d5
exd5 5 cxd5 d6 The Modern
Benoni. 6 Nc3 g6 7 e4 Bg7 8 Bg5 A
sideline, but with some venom. h6 9
Bh4 a6 Black has abandoned 9…g5
10 Bg3 Nh5 11 Bb5+ Kf8 because
12 e5! g4 13 0-0! and 12 e5! Nxg3
13 fxg3 dxe5 14 0-0 give White a
powerful attack. 10 Nd2 Harmless is
10 a4 g5 11 Bg3 Nh5. b5 11 Be2 0-0
12 0-0 Nbd7 13 Qc2 Re8 Most nat-
ural, but 13…c4 14 b4 cxb3 15 axb3
Bb7 is also adequate. 14 a4 b4 15
Nd1 Heading for c4 via e3. Before
White can establish a bind, though,
Black has two opportunities for
strong counterplay. b3!? The other
method is 15…g5 16 Bg3 Nxd5 17
Nc4 Nf4, when 18 Nxd6?! Ne5! 19
Nxe8?? loses to 19…b3. 16 Qd3
Black does not fear 16 Qxb3 g5 17
Bg3 Nxe4 18 Nxe4 Rxe4 19 Qc2
Nf6. Rb8 17 f4 Safer are 17 Nc3
and 17 Ne3. Rb4 18 Nc4 Nb6 19
Nde3 Nxc4 20 Nxc4 a5! Nunn’s rec-
ommendation. The fight intensifies,
and Black’s chances are no worse.
21 Rac1 As 21 e5? Ba6 favors
Black. Qc7 The computer likes
21…Qd7 22 e5 dxe5 23 fxe5 Nxd5,
but 24 Bg3, preparing 25 Nd6,
retakes the initiative. A second alter-
native, 21…Ba6 22 Qf3 Bxc4 23
Bxc4 Qd7!?, invites the exchange
sacrifice 24 Bb5? Rxb5 25 axb5
Nxe4, when Black’s Bishop will
emerge at d4. White must find the
answer 24 Be1! Nxe4 25 Bxb4 cxb4
26 Bb5 Qa7+ 27 Kh1 Re7 28 f5 to
maintain the dynamic balance. 22 e5
Bf5 23 Qd2 Ne4 24 Qd1 dxe5 25 g4
Bd7 26 d6 Qc8 Not bad, but Black
seems to obtain an edge by 26…Qb7
27 f5 gxf5 28 gxf5 Bf6.
cuuuuuuuuC
{wdqdrdkd}
{dwdbdpgw}
{wdw)wdp0}
{0w0w0wdw}
{P4Ndn)PG}
{dpdwdwdw}
{w)wdBdw)}
{dw$QdRIw}
vllllllllV
27 f5! Anyway. gxf5 28 gxf5
Nf6?! The complicated 28…Bxf5 29
Rxf5 Qxf5 30 d7 leads to a draw by
30…Qg6+! 31 Kf1 (not 31 Kh1?
Rd8 32 Bxd8? Nf2 mate) Qf5+ 32
Kg2 Qg6+ 33 Kf1, unless White
dares to risk 33 Bg4 Ra8 34 d8Q+
Rxd8 35 Qxd8+ Kh7 36 Kh3 h5 37
Bc8. 29 Be1 Rb8 Acquiescing to a
small disadvantage. A similar evalua-
tion applies to 29…Rb7 30 Nxa5 Rb8
31 Rc4 Bxf5 32 Nxb3. Black spotted
the problem with 29…Bxf5? 30
Bxb4 Bc2?, his original intention.
White would win with 31 d7! Nxd7
32 Qd5, refuting 32…Nf6 most ele-
gantly by 33 Rxf6 Bxf6 34 Nd6 Qe6
35 Nxe8! Qxd5 36 Nxf6+. 30 Bxa5
Bxa4 Not 31…Bxf5? 32 Nb6. 31
Bc7 Rb4 32 Nb6 Qb7 33 Nxa4
Rxa4 34 Rc4!? Black gets plenty of
compensation from 34 d7?! Rd4! 35
dxe8Q+ Nxe8. Qb5! As 35 d7 Nxd7
36 Rd4 Qxe2 37 Qxe2 Rxd4 should
hold the draw. 35 Qc1 e4!? Making
White worry about the safety of his
King. For example, 36 Rxe4? Qc6
37 Rxe8+ Nxe8 creates the disturb-
ing threat of 38…Bd4+. 36 Rc2 c4
Easiest is 36…Qb4, when 37 Rc4
Qb5 repeats. Instead, 37 Rxc5?
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 15

Qd4+ 38 Kh1 e3 would return the
advantage to Black. 37 Rxc4
cuuuuuuuuC
{wdwdrdkd}
{dwGwdpgw}
{wdw)whw0}
{dqdwdPdw}
{rdRdpdwd}
{dpdwdwdw}
{w)wdBdw)}
{dw!wdRIw}
vllllllllV
Nd5?? Fatal. After 37…e3 38
Rxa4 Qxa4, White could get swin-
dled by 39 Qc5? Nd7! 40 Qb5? Qxb5
41 Bxb5 Bxb2!, but the correct 39
Qc4 Qxc4 40 Bxc4 Re4 41 Be2 Nd7
leads to a well-deserved draw. 38
Rd1! From this point, Hillery foresaw
the artistic finish. Nf6 Insufficient are
38…Nxc7 39 dxc7 and 38…Ra7 39
Rxe4. Even the trickier 38…Ra2!?
fails, to 39 Qd2! Rxb2 40 Qxd5
Qxd5 41 Rxd5 Rxe2 42 d7 Rf8 43
d8Q b2 44 Qxf8+ Kxf8 45 Rd1. 39
d7 Nxd7 40 Rxe4 Qxe2 41 Rxe2
Rxe2 42 Qc6 Rd4 Too many Black
pieces are loose after 42…Bd4+ 43
Kf1 Rf2+ 44 Ke1. If 44…Nc5, easiest
is 45 Qe8+ Kg7 46 Be5+. 43 Rxd4
Bxd4+ 44 Kf1 Again, Black cannot
coordinate his pieces after 44…Rf2+
45 Ke1. White refutes 45…Nf8 by
46 Bd6 Rxb2 47 Qe8 Bg7 48 f6. Rxb2
The best chance, as the b-pawn is
formidable. 45 Qxd7 Rf2+ 46 Ke1
b2 47 Qe8+ Not 47 Qxd4?? Rc2!,
and Black wins. Kg7 If 47…Kh7 48
Qxf7+ Bg7, White maneuvers the
Queen into position by 49 Qg6+
Kg8 50 Qe6+ Kh8 51 Qe8+ Kh7 52
Qe4, then finishes with 52…Rg2 53
f6+ Kg8 54 Qe6+ Kh7 55 Qf5+ Kg8
56 f7+ Kh8 57 Be5. 48 Be5+ Bxe5
49 Qxe5+ Kh7 50 Qe4 Rf4 Black
cannot reach a “fortress draw” by
50…Rg2 51 f6+ Kh8 52 Kf1 Rg6
16 WWW.MASSCHESS.ORG
CHESS HORIZONS
because of 53 Qe8+ Rg8 54 Qb5. 51 54 h4!, Black Resigns. White
Qb1! The careless 51 Qb7? Rxf5 52 will disrupt Black’s defense by run-
Qxb2 Kg8 probably draws. Rb4 52 ning his King to c5. Because
f6+ Kh8 53 Ke2! Threatening 54 54…Rxf6? lands in Zugzwang by 55
Qg1. Less convincing is 53 Kf2? Qxb2 Kg7 56 h5, Black must resort
Rb6 54 Kg3 Kg8. Rb6 to 54…h5 55 Ke3 Re6+ (another
Zugzwang appears after 55…Rxf6
cuuuuuuuuC 56 Qxb2 Kg7 57 Qe5!, as 57…Kg6
{wdwdwdwi} 58 Qg5+ costs Black the Rook) 56
{dwdwdpdw} Kd3 Rd6+ 57 Kc4 Rb6 58 Kc5 Rb8.
{w4wdw)w0} White conquers resistance by 59
{dwdwdwdw} Kd6 Rb4 60 Ke7 Kg8 61 Qg1+ Rg4
{wdwdwdwd} 62 Qh1! Ra4 (or 62…Rb4 63 Qd5)
{dwdwdwdw} 63 Qg2+ Rg4 64 Qb7! Rxh4 65
{w0wdKdw)} Ke8. A grand conception fittingly
{dQdwdwdw} ends a magnificent game.
vllllllllV
“What is the object of playing a gambit opening?... To acquire a
reputation of being a dashing player at the cost of losing a game”
— Siegbert Tarrasch
Ivanov & Shmelov Top 60th
New Hampshire Open
by Bob Messenger
GM Alexander Ivanov and SM Denys Shmelov, both of Massachusetts,
tied for first in the 60th New Hampshire Open, which was held July 10th-
11th in Nashua N.H. IM Joe Fang won the New Hampshire championship as
the top N.H. resident, with a score of 2.5 - 1.5. Ivanov and Shmelov each won
their first three games and drew their game against each other in the last
round, while Fang won the state title with a last round win against
Massachusetts master Lawyer Times.
Winners of other sections were: Todd Chase in the U2060, Oliver
Chase in the U1860, Leonid Stolov and Jonathan Kuehne in the U1660,
Henry Clark in the U1460, Alex Franke in the U1260, and NM Frank Sisto and
John Gaspar in the Sunday Swiss.
Hal Terrie, who organized the tournament, Parker Montgomery and the
law firm of Upton and Hatfield donated money to increase the prize fund to
$7,320 and make this 60th anniversary tournament a memorable one. There
was a total of 124 players. The tournament was directed by Alex Relyea,
assisted by Hal Terrie, Nita Patel and Bob Messenger.
 CHESS HORIZONS

John Hillery: The Mr. Spock of California Chess

by Hal Bogner

John Hillery arrived in southern California in the early

1980s, shortly after I did. We quickly got to know each
other through work for the Southern California Chess
Federation and play in the Sunday master's section at The
Chess Set - the chess club that famously met in the home
of the godmother of the LA chess scene in those days, Lina
Grumette. My recollections of him all date from that
decade, when he often took the role of my chief assistant
at the many large tournaments we ran, such as the Memorial
Day Classic and American Open, in those days.
As a colleague, having his help was as reliable and
valuable to me as Mr. Spock's help must have been to
Captain Kirk throughout the entire fictional history of the
original Star Trek crew. And, of course - like Spock -
John acted as though to deny that he had a human mother.
I believe that this endeared him to Lina. Once, in an
early round of Lina's Memorial Day Classic, a player in
John's section found out that his daughter had been in a
car accident; she was OK, but her father wanted to go
make sure. With his opponent's consent, I adjourned the
game - which he would either resume the next morning,
or resign if he decided he could not return to the tourna-
ment. John had been at lunch when this occurred, but
when I gave him the adjournment envelope and the John Hillery at a 1970s Boston tournament. File photo.
story, he growled quietly and cited chapter and verse
have occurred in Mexico in 1913 or so: he thought that
from the rulebook, arguing that temporary adjournments
Bierce must have encountered Pancho Villa - and told
for medical reasons did not extent to family members'
him exactly what he thought of him. And now, in what-
conditions. On hearing this story, Lina smiled and told
ever Hereafter there may be, I can easily picture John
me "That's our John!"
doing the same.
As we were also fortunate enough to have had the
In all of my experiences with him, John embodied
assistance of Andrew Smith in those days, too - who
great intellect, an unflinchingly selfless sense of fairness,
played the role of Dr. McCoy on our team - I never
and a willingness to work hard for those whom he under-
found John's 100% commitment to unemotional rational-
took to assist or serve. Though I have not run tournaments
ity to be a limitation, and in fact, it was a source of great
in 20 years now, and have been away from LA for almost
and reliable strength on many occasions.
that long, I miss him already. Requiescat in pace, John.
John was very private and lived modestly. Ascetic
and acerbic, John had a vast vocabulary and a wicked
Hal Bogner
sense of humor- I thought of him as a modern reincarna-
Life Master, International Arbiter
tion of the famous writer and journalist Ambrose Bierce,
former SCCF president
who I believed he much admired. In fact, John had a
theory to explain Bierce's death, which is believed to

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 17
 CHESS
Bent Larsen 1935-2010
by Bob Messenger
Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen died September 9th
2010 in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the age of 75. Larsen
won the Danish championship six times and was a can-
didate for the World Championship four times. During
the 1960s and early 1970s he was a rival with Bobby
Fischer for the role as the best player in the West, and he
played on first board ahead of Fischer in the USSR vs.
the Rest of the World match in 1970. He suffered a dis-
astrous 0-6 defeat to Fischer in their Candidates Match
in Denver, Colorado in 1971.
Larsen played in a few tournaments in New England
during that time period. He won the 1970 U.S. Open,
which was held in Boston. He also won the Merrimack
Grand Prix, which was also the New England Open, in
Salem N.H. in 1969, and tied with GM Pal Benko for
first at the Merrimack Grand Prix in 1968.
Larsen won the following game against IM-to-be
Norman Weinstein, who won the Massachusetts state
championship in 1972 and the U.S. Open in 1973.
White: Weinstein, Norman
Black: Larsen, Bent
[B89] Sicilian Defense: Velimirovic Attack
U.S. Open Boston, Mass., 1970
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4
e6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qe2 a6 9.0-0-0 Qc7 10.Bb3 b5 11.g4
Na5 12.g5 Nxb3+ 13.axb3 Nd7 14.h4 Bb7 15.f3 b4 16.Na4
Nc5 17.Qf2 Rc8 18.Kb1 Nxa4 19.bxa4 d5 20.exd5
Bxd5 21.Nf5 0-0 22.Nxe7+ Qxe7 23.b3 Rc3 24.Rh3
Rfc8 25.Rd2 Qc7 26.Rh1 Bxb3 27.Rc1 Ba2+ 0-1
Irving Wolfson 1919-2010
by Bob Messenger
Dr. Irving Wolfson, a longtime member of the
Worcester Chess Club and later the Greater Worcester
Chess Club, died July 8th 2010 at the age of 90. He
often played in MACA tournaments, most recently at the
2003 Massachusetts Open. He held many leadership
positions in the Worcester medical community, and was
a past president of the Worcester Heart Association. He
is survived by a sister, three children, six grandchildren
and one great grandchild.
18 WWW.MASSCHESS.ORG
HORIZONS
Michael Glinski 1959-2010
by George Mirijanian and Bob Messenger
Former Chess Horizons editor Michael Glinski Jr
died April 10th 2010 in Nashua N.H. A former resident
of Fitchburg who later moved to Hudson, N.H., Glinski
was the editor of Chess Horizons for six issues in 1990,
when Chess Horizons was a bimonthly publication.
While living in Fitchburg he was a member of the Wachusett
Chess Club in the 1980s and early 1990s, competing in
the club's "A" division championships in 1992 and 1993.
He had a Class A quick rating and correspondence rating.
After graduating from Leominster High School in
1977 Glinski served for four years in the U.S. Army as a
computer technician. He worked many years for the for-
mer NEC Computer Systems in Boxborough as vice
president of operations. He was later the president of
Vibren Technologies Inc., also in Boxborough.
He was is survived by his long time partner, Carol
A. Winter, of Hudson N.H., and by a daughter, Jessica
Glinski of Lunenberg, and a brother, John Glinski.
Donate to MACA!
MACA is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational
organization, so your donation is tax deductible.
There are four ways you can donate:
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for special projects such furnishing free chess sets
to schools, libraries and public service agencies.
For a $35 minimum donation a person you desig-
nate can be added to a list of people honored by
donations to this fund.
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used to mail Chess Horizons to prison inmates.
Chess Horizons. Donations designated for
Chess Horizons increase the money that's available
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General donations. If you don't designate a
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Mail your check, payable to MACA, to MACA
Treasurer Bob Messenger, 4 Hamlett Dr. Apt. 12,
Nashua NH 03062.
 CHESS
Ivan Sokolov, The Ruy Lopez Revisited
by Nicholas P. Sterling, Ph.D.
Most general opening books, when presenting the
Ruy Lopez, seem to follow the same pattern: they rush
through variations that exclude 3. … a6 first, as if they are
in a hurry to get them over with fast. They implicitly
dismiss them as of course not really worthy of one’s time,
in order to get to the “real” Ruy Lopez, the comparative-
ly enormous and respected body of theory starting with
3. … a6. The consequence of such a narrow view is that
there are a whole slew of sidelines that a persistent Black
player can seize upon and surprise a White player who
hasn’t taken time to prepare them.
In his 2009 release, Sokolov offers a full exploration
of such sidelines in the Ruy Lopez: the Jaenisch or
Schliemann Gambit (3 … f5), the Cozio (3. … Nge7), the
Smyslov (3. … g6), the Bird (3. … Nd4), and the Classical
(3. … Bc5). As he states in his Introduction, the advan-
tage of these offbeat variations is that they may throw
White off his prepared book as early as Move 5, forcing
him into a long think earlier than he was anticipating. The
question then is, are these variations objectively worthy
of a Black player’s attention? Sokolov evaluates them
to determine the current lines that White should use against
them, and how Black will make them stand up, if he can.
The presentation of the variations is thorough and
painstaking, and the work Sokolov has put into the book
makes it an essential resource for Ruy Lopez players.
Theory is an ever-changing matrix, and interests and
trends evolve. If White understands that he can’t always
rely on Black’s playing a nice predictable Chigorin,
Zaitsev, Open, Breyer, or Marshall the way White wants
him to, he will be better armed against these odd and fas-
cinating variations.
Of the variations covered, the Jaenisch, covered in
Part I – 3. … f5 4. Nc3 fxe4 (or 4. … Nf6) 5. Nxe4 d5
(or 5. … Nf6 or 5. … Be7) 6. Nxe5 dxe4 7. Nxc6 Qg5
(or 7. … Qd5?!) – receives the most favorable advoca-
tion from Sokolov. The impression I take away is that
the Jaenisch may be the most misunderstood of the ones
covered here. While it is generally rejected as too risky,
Sokolov argues forcefully that it has hidden resources
that make it much better for Black than its reputation
suggests. He rejects the line 7. … Qd5?! because of 8.
c4 Qd6 9. Nxa7+!, but he embraces the main line, 7. …
Qg5 8. Qe2 Nf6 9. f4, by revealing an improvement at
the 16th move, 16. … Rf8! The line arrives at equality
HORIZONS
on the 20th move and appears to head the game to a draw.
There is an alternative 9. Nxa7+!? (instead of the usual
9. f4) that may need to be explored as a possible future
main line, but Sokolov appears to think that Black has
chances against this one too. All in all, the Jaenisch is a
variation that can upset any White Ruy Lopez player’s
repertoire. Although I have not played it myself (yet –
maybe I will now!), I have faced it a few times, and been
slaughtered, so I have felt firsthand its vicious bite. Sokolov,
therefore, does well to champion it enthusiastically.
All the other Parts display as careful analysis as Part
I. Parts II and III cover the Delayed Jaenisch and Cozio
Variations, neither of which gets much enthusiasm from
Sokolov. Part IV covers the Smyslov (3. … g6), which
Sokolov calls “sound,” but with 4. d4 White comes away
with “somewhat better chances,” in Sokolov’s estimate.
Part V covers Bird’s Defense (3. … Nd4), which is objec-
tively more favorable for White, but is “complicated” and
difficult to figure out accurately over the board. Part VI
covers the Classical Defense (3. … Bc5), with several
sub-parts that demonstrate this variation’s high complexity.
Sokolov is consistent in presenting this exploration
as work in progress. He shows a superb handling of his
research and understanding of the thicket of intricate lines,
and makes clear that there are many lines, such as the
aforementioned 9. Nxa7+!?, that are cutting-edge and need
further exploration. These spots will supply sedulous
preparers of these variations with key resources that they
may try out to find out their merits and demerits further.
If anything disappoints about this book, it’s that
Black players against the Ruy Lopez who want to
eschew mainstream lines but who dislike the Jaenisch
(and its cousin the Siesta, which Sokolov doesn’t like
much) don’t really have any conclusively favorable
Black lines to choose from. Perhaps they will need to
set themselves up for some hard knocks with Sokolov’s
suggestions for further exploration to discover that a
seemingly favorable line for White actually is really
playable for Black.
That point notwithstanding, this book, in this review-
er’s opinion, is an outstanding companion to a reader
interested in seeing the current trends in the Ruy Lopez
and examining them further. It should become part of
the chess library of every serious Ruy Lopez player.
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 19
 CHESS HORIZONS

“Rizz the Whiz” at Metrowest Chess Club

by George Mirijanian

IM James Rizzitano, one of the most respected play-

ers in New England, made an appearance on August 10
at the Metrowest Chess Club in Natick, where he made
himself available to sell and autograph his latest book,
"Play the Najdorf Sicilian." Rizzitano is the author of
four other best-selling Gambit Publications books. His
first book, "Understanding Your Chess," appeared in 2004,
followed by "How to Beat 1. d4" in 2005. In 2006, his
"Chess Explained: The Taimanov Sicilian" was published.
And one year later he came out with "Chess Explained:
The Queen's Gambit Declined." Rizz the Whiz was a
dominant player in New England from the mid-1970s
until the late 1980s. He has won five international tour-
naments, including the 1985 Windy City International,
the 1983 Chicago International, and the 1982 Continental
Chess Summer International. He was National Open co-
champion in 1988, a two-time New England Open cham-
pion, a four-time Massachusetts Open champion, and the
1980 U.S. Open Speed Champion. In addition, he was
National Junior High School champion in 1976 and
National High School champion in 1979. In the mid-1980s,
he was a trainer for future grandmaster Ilya Gurevich.
Among GMs he has defeated are Lev Alburt, Joel
Benjamin, Larry Christiansen, Maxim Dlugy, Dmitry
IM Jim Rizzitano at the MetroWest Chess Club book signing. Photo:
Gurevich, Patrick Wolff, and his protege, Ilya Gurevich. Warner Smith

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20 WWW.MASSCHESS.ORG
 CHESS
Club News
Billerica Chess Club
by Brad Ryan
Even the half points were hard to earn in the
Billerica March Friday Night Swiss. A field of 3 Experts
and 5 “A” players produced an unprecedented 6-way tie
for first between Experts Art Nugent and Pat Sciacca and
“A” players Nate Smith, John Vaughan, Fangru Jiang
and Michelle Chen, each with 2.5 – 1.5 scores. John
Stuebing, Bob Babcock and Daniel Hamil each finished
in a 3-way tie for best under 1750, each posting a 2 - 2
result. Daniel Kilgour and Peter Zito tied for best under
1250, with 1.5 – 2.5 scores. Nate Smith directed this 20
player tournament.
The Billerica 6-round April – May Swiss – always
considered a warm-up for the 7-round May – June Club
Championship – was won by the Club’s 2009 Club
Champion, Expert Pat Sciacca. Pat posted a strong 5.5 -
.5 score, a full point ahead of Expert Raymond Paulson,
who finished 2nd with a 4.5 – 1.5 result. “A” players
Tom McCafferty, Jeffrey Caruso and Michelle Chen tied
for best under 2000, with solid 3 – 2 performances.
John Stuebing and Meyer Billmers - both Club stalwarts
for more than 2 decades – tied for best under 1750, with
2.5 – 2.5. Bob Babcock – back to the Club after a some-
what long absence – was best under 1500, also with a
2.5 – 2.5 score. David Gilgour was again best under
1250, with a 1.5 – 4.5 score. Nate Smith directed. 17
players participated in the tournament.
Historically, our Club Championship – ’09 being an
exception – has been decided so late in the evening of
the 7th and final round that even the draws are very hard
to get. This was the case again in 2010. Coming into
the 7th and final round (in a field of 2 Experts and 7
strong “A” players), Experts Art Nugent and Pat Sciacca
(last year’s Champion) and “A” player Fangru Jiang
were tied, each with 4.5 points. Only Sciacca could pull
out the win, posting a 5.5 – 1.5 score, and repeating as
Club Champion. “A” player Max Chia-Hsin Lu finished
2nd with a strong 5 – 2 performance, only _ point off the
pace. Nugent and Fangru Jiang tied for 3rd, each with
4.5 – 2.5 scores. Jiang was also best under 2000. Meyer
Billmers, Paul Staten and Bob Babcock tied for best
under 1750, with 3 – 4, while Charles Windheim was
best under 1500, with 2 – 5. Eric Heinecke was best
HORIZONS
under 1250, also with a 2-5 score. 20 players participat-
ed in the tournament and Nate Smith directed.
I should note that we meet on Friday nights and we
have always welcomed new players!
Boylston Chess Club
by Bob Messenger
Alexander Paphitis won the Weaver Adams Qualifier,
which was held June 2nd to 28th, with a perfect 4-0 score.
This event was open to players rated under 1800, and the
winner earned an invitation to the Rubens/Landey, the
club's championship for players rated under 2200. The
Rubens/Landey was held between July 12th and August
2nd and finished in a three-way tie between David
Glickman, Jeffrey Hall and Sean Ingham, all with 3-1
scores. Jeffrey Hall finished first on tiebreak, winning
an invitation to the BCC Championship, which is cur-
rently under way.
On August 21st 19 players competed in the 17th
Charles Drafts Memorial. The winner was Ukrainian IM
Evgeni Piankov, playing in his first tournament in the
United States. Piankov won all four of his games, includ-
ing a win in the last round against FM Chris Chase.
For more information about the club, visit its web
site, boylstonchessclub.org.
Sven Brask Chess Club
by Jim Aspinall
This summer continued a string of highly competi-
tive events at the SBCC. Many strong players have
passed through the club, but the depth of the fields at the
club right now is as strong as it’s been in over 15 years.
We now have 3 experts, and 7 players over 1900, and in
addition to beating each other up, all of them suffer
defeats to the “lower ranked” (only on paper, and of
which this author is one) players on a regular basis.
The July event was the annual Summer Swiss. This
5-round event was won by Larry Dean with a score of 4
points. Ken Wheeler and Jeff Hall tied for second with
3.5 points. The field of 20 was directed by Jim Aspinall.
The August tournament was the Dog Days of Chess.
Andrew Hoy topped a field of 16 in the 4-round Swiss
with a perfect score. George Winsor and Jim Lemieux
tied for 2nd with 3 points. Andrew’s performance put
his rating over 2000 for the first time and made him the
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 21
 CHESS
club’s 3rd Expert, joining reigning club co-champion
Larry Dean and 2 time former champion Jack Correia.
Paul Gavlick’s performance was also notable. Ranked
13th on the wallchart, Paul scored 2.5 points with a 2042
performance rating to pick up 88 rating points. Gerry
Plante directed.
The Sven Brask Chess Club meets Wednesdays from
7-1130 at the United Methodist Church in Plainville,
MA. For more information see our web site at
www.svenbraskcc.org.
Wachusett Chess Club
by George Mirijanian
Tony Cesolini, a Class A player from Jaffrey, NH,
scored 5.5-0.5 to win the Wachusett CC Championship,
held May 5-June 16, 2010 at the McKay Campus School
at Fitchburg State College. Finishing as runner-up with a
4-1 tally, including one unplayed game, was 15-time
club champion George Mirijanian of Fitchburg, who
nicked Cesolini for his only draw. Tying for third place
with 2.5 points apiece were two-time club champion
Bruce Felton of Fitchburg and Glenn Rochon of
Leominster. Martin Laine of Lunenburg and Dave
Couture of Westminster tied for 1st-2nd place in the
club's "B" Championship, tallying 5.5-1.5. Tying for 3rd-
4th place with 5-2 scores were Leonard Arsenault and
Kenneth Gurge, both of Leominster. Deadlocked in 5th
place with 4-3 results were Michael Manisy of Otter
River, Paul Lynch, Seetharaman Ganesan of South
Grafton, Brian Biglow of Leominster and Max Sewell of
Peterborough, NH. A total of 30 players competed in the
championship event, 22 of whom vied for top honors in
the "B" division.
The Wachusett CC Quick Chess Championship, held
June 23, 2010, ended in victory for club champion Tony
Cesolini. In a field of 21 players, the Granite State player
tallied a perfect 4-0. Michael Manisy finished second
with a score of 3.5-1.5. Tying for third place with 3-1
results were Robert King of Worcester and Thayer
Aletheia-Zomlefer of Phoenix, AZ.
Robert King was the winner of the Harlow B. Daly
Memorial tournament, held July 7-August 2010. In a
field of 25 contenders, the Worcester player scored 4.5-
0.5. Leonard Arsenault was second with a 4-1 tally.
Tying for 3rd-4th place with 3.5-1.5 scores were Tony
Cesolini and Martin Laine. Deadlocked in fifth place
with 3-2 performances were George Mirijanian, Bruce
Felton, Kenneth Gurge and Paul Lynch.
George Mirijanian and Michael Manisy tallied 4-1 to
22 WWW.MASSCHESS.ORG
HORIZONS
tie for 1st-2nd place in the Michael Glinski Jr. Memorial
tournament, held August 11-September 8, 2010. Tying
for 3rd-4th place with 3.5-1.5 scores were Dave Couture
and Seetharaman Ganesan. Sharing fifth place with 3-2
results were John Moran of Worcester, Tony Cesolini,
Martin Laine, Mark Marshall of Worcester, and Mark
Daley of New Ipswich, NH. A total of 30 players com-
peted. The tournament honored the memory of Michael
Glinski Jr. of Hudson, NH, formerly of Fitchburg, who
served as Chess Horizons editor in 1990. He died April
10, 2010 in Nashua, NH at the age of 51.
Waltham Chess Club
by Nicholas P. Sterling, Ph.D.
The highlight of our summer was the observance of
our 100th First Friday G/10 tournament this August.
The first ever First Friday was directed by Michael
Gosselin back in 1996, making our 100th a long-awaited
watershed to reach. Everyone who came brought lots of
munchies to nosh on and made the event a great success.
Our attendance numbers this summer have stayed
consistently high, between 16 and 20 players, with occa-
sional dips when players were away on vacation. We
expect our numbers to return to full strength from
September onward.
Some highlights from the last few months:
• Denys Shmelov has continued to march through
tournament after tournament in winning style. Perfect 7-
point scores at the June and July First Fridays, a perfect
4-point score at the June G/20 – congratulations to Denys!
• The Hot and Steamy G/60 in July featured a
remarkable four-way 2-point tie for first among Denys,
Todd Chase, Edward Astrachan, and Andrew Liu.
• Frank Sisto, Todd Chase, and Geoffrey Collins tied
three ways for first place with 3 points out of 4 each in the
Open Section. Vitaliy Ryabinin took sole first place in
the Under-1400 Section with a perfect score of 4 points.
• Erik Siggelkoe took sole first place at the August
First Friday with a score of 6.5 out of 7 points.
• Brandon Wu took sole first place in the Under
1500 Section at the Aloha G/60 in August with a perfect
score of 2 points. Way to go, Brandon!
The Waltham Chess Club meets every Friday
evening at 7 PM. For more information see our web site
at www.walthamchessclub.org.
“Chess is not like life... it has rules!”
— Mark"Pasternak
 CHESS HORIZONS

Harry Nelson Pillsbury Memorial

Sunday, November 28th, 2010, Leominster, Massachusetts
$1,350 Prize Fund - 75% Guaranteed
(Grand Prix Points: 10 (enhanced))
Where: Leominster Veterans Memorial Center, 100 West Street, Leominster, MA
What: 4-round USCF rated Swiss, G/60, in 3 sections: Open, Under 1900, and Under 1600.
Registration: 8:30 – 9:30 AM
Rounds: 10:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 3:30 PM, 6:00 PM
Entry Fee: $39 if mailed by 11/22 or online at www.MassChess.org by PayPal by 11/26. $45 on site.
GM, IM free. No credit cards on site (cash or check OK). No phone or e-mail entries.
Special: Unrated may play in any section, but may not win 1st except in the Open section.
Prizes: Prizes are 75% guaranteed based on 45 paid entries
Open: $300-$150, top under 2100 $75
U1900: $250-$125, top under 1750 $75
U1600: $200-$100, top under 1300 $75

• One half-point bye allowed in any round if requested with entry.

• USCF and home state membership required (MACA dues $12 adult, $6 under 18;
add $8 [optional] for subscription to Chess Horizons). WMCA accepted.
• Other state memberships accepted.
• Emergency contact day of tournament only: 508-561-2160. No phone entries.

Additional Info: PillsburyInfo2010@masschess.org. www.MassChess.org

Harry Nelson Pillsbury Memorial, November 28, 2010

Name: __________________________________________________ USCF #___________________ Exp: ________

Address: __________________________________________________ Phone: __________________ Rating: ______
City/State/Zip: _________________________________________________________________________________
Email Address: _________________________________________ Junior MACA - Date of Birth: ________________
Need USCF membership? Yes / No Enclosed for USCF is $ ________
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$8 for Chess Horizons [optional])
Entry Fee $ ________ for the ___________________section
(please specify section)
Total Enclosed $ ________

Mail checks, payable to MACA, to: Ken Ballou, 27 Fenway Drive, Framingham, MA 01701-4012

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 23
Massachusetts Chess Association
c/o Robert D. Messenger Nonprofit
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Chess Horizons
October-December 2010
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